Cleiton Silva (©Brave Combat Federation)

Fighting out of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Cleiton “Predator” Silva, 33, was recently crowned as the new Brave Combat Federation Lightweight World Champion. Now, he wants to conquer three other divisions.

Brave CF held “Brave 25” at the Arena Minas Tênis Clube in Belo Horizonte on August 30, 2019. In the main event of the evening, Silva competed for the Brave CF Lightweight World Championship belt and knocked out defending champion Luan “Miau” Santiago, 24, of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil in the first round.

“You know, age is just a number,” said Silva, who now holds a professional mixed martial arts record of 15 wins and 2 losses. “I’m over the moon at finally getting my due, getting my respect and getting the recognition I know I deserve. I’m a world champion!”

“(Praises) for Brave CF, the best company,” Silva continued. “This is crazy but I have more plans, bigger plans. I want to take on the next challenge.”

“I want to go up to super Lightweight,” the Belo Horizonte native added. “I want to sweep the stakes and get to welterweight (and) win the title there too. If I could fight without a leg, I would go for the featherweight belt, too.”

Silva laughed at the idea of competing in different weight classes. He also said, “I don’t care what people will say.”

“I mean outside of Belo Horizonte, no one believed I could beat Luan and here we are,” Silva explained. “I love proving people wrong and I look forward to doing it again soon.”

Featuring 10 professional MMA bouts, “Brave 25” was the fourth time Brave CF held a show in Brazil, reaffirming its commitment with the development of the scene in the spiritual home of the sport. Including Silva and Santiago, some of the top Brazilian MMA fighters clashed with each other and the biggest foreign names in the promotion’s ranks.

Here is a clip featuring the “Brave 25” weigh-ins: